Wednesday, April 21, 2010

At CMU, they say, "Hey! Let's Buggy!"

Buggy is:
"1.You build a buggy,2. You race it,3. You win." - Michael Ian Black, professional comedian and social interpreter

Size DOES matter, at least when it comes to being the Buggy driver.
Are you bright, short, and of low gravitational pull? Get thee to CMU upon your high school graduation.
Remember all those taunts regarding your diminutive physical stature? Get thee to CMU upon your high school graduation.
You will be wined and dined, cajoled and tempted, woo will be pitched to you in buckets. And if you happen to have any physical co-ordination, your name will be proposed for sainthood upon your feet touching the campus grounds.
As you can see, quarters are rather tight when it comes to being the pilot of these low-slung street projectiles, so being able to be stuffed inside the canister is of high importance and if you're in the 5 ft, 90 lbs range, you will most definitely be of high importance.

There are 82 pages of rules for the Sweepstakes (the OFFICIAL name), i.e., the annual Buggy Races. Page 81 alone lists fine for minor but not disqualifying infractions including $25 for "Hay Bales" and $25 for "Driver extraction equipment in the follow car". These folks are not fooling around! Adherence to the rules is strict; this year's leaders were all disqualified on a safety issue. A Bummer of a Buggy for them. So, it seems a barrister type (or two) is a necessary member of each Buggy team.

This year's recap of events is here. Bit of Buggy history is here, here, and here.